Bitcoin is experiencing an explosive bull market, its first since the record-breaking mania of that drove it to highs of nearly $20, per coin. The market as a whole follows wherever bitcoin goes, which right now is up.

For many people, bitcoin and other crypto is more than a store of value. It represents decentralized finance, a new way of thinking about money — a world where everyone could literally be a bank. Bitcoin and other crypto are driving innovations that could disrupt finance, law, gaming and many other industries. All of this new opportunity naturally comes with new ways to get rich.

Let’s take a closer look at how to make money from bitcoin.

Mine Bitcoin

Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies come into existence through a process known as mining. With bitcoin specifically, if your computer serves as part of the network that validates bitcoin transactions, you are rewarded for adding your resources to the network. Peer-to-peer validation is ideally what keeps bitcoin decentralized — you don’t need any 3rd party like a bank to say “this transaction just took place.” The network records it for everyone to see.

Unfortunately, bitcoin mining is becoming more difficult and possibly prohibitively expensive for some people. There will only be 21 million bitcoin in existence, ever. With each passing day, some of that remaining bitcoin is mined. Because there is less to mine and more miners chasing that reward, you need more computer power to help the network and you get less for it. The energy used to mine bitcoin is also quite substantial. Unless you are willing to spend at least $10, on a powerful setup, move to a country with low energy costs and you have experience with computer programming, you are likely better off choosing one of the other ways to make money with bitcoin.

Trade Bitcoin

The $ billion crypto market trades around $93 billion worth of crypto every 24 hours. If you know how to follow a candlestick chart, you may be able to trade your way into riches with bitcoin. Like the forex market, cryptocurrency trading is very loosely regulated. This provides traders with the freedom to seek out great deals, but it also affords those traders little to no protection for lost funds or against fraud. If you lose your bitcoin in a trade on an unregulated decentralized exchange (DEX), there is no government to appeal to.

Josh Morris Youtube

Alternatively, there are centralized exchanges (CEXs) that come accredited through financial authorities like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These exchanges offer more liquidity, some protection against loss (not insurance) and lower fees. However, traders give up most or all of their anonymity. The great information debate is what created crypto, but if you don’t care about revealing your identity, then trading bitcoin on a CEX may be for you.

Best Cryptocurrency Brokers

If you are looking to trade cryptocurrency, it is important to do business with a broker you trust.